Over 2000 Km by road, in around 10 days. Stunning landscapes, wonderful people. That sums up our Ladakh trip. But how did it actually work? How did we make it happen? Read on to find out! Leh, the capital of Ladakh , is accessible by air and road. Flying into Leh is the easiest, and time-saving option, while the road is the time consuming one, but with the added advantage of driving past some of the most beautiful landscapes in our country. Each option has much to recommend it, and we chose the road for just one reason – altitude sickness. Altitude sickness was one of my biggest concerns, since I suffer from motion-sickness. Yes, I do travel a lot, but that is despite my condition, and, over the years, have learnt how to handle it. I struggled with it when we visited Nathu-La in Sikkim, and wondered if I would be able to manage a week at the even higher altitudes that we would encounter in Ladakh. This was the reason we stuck to a basic plan, of only 9 days in Ladakh, though we
The month of July brings along more than just the rain – it marks the beginning of the most auspicious period of the year, a period dotted with festivals. The first of these is the Varalakshmi Puja, the south Indian equivalent of the Lakshmi Puja during Diwali. This is strictly a family festival, the right for performing the puja being handed over from mother-in-law to daughter-in-law. I would love to give you a glimpse into the grand way we perform the puja at home, but unfortunately, we are in a period of mourning, and haven’t performed the puja for the last two years. Hopefully, the period will end this year, and we can get along with our festivals… Meanwhile, I accompanied my sister to buy the flowers required for the puja. Join us in our trip…..
The flower market at Dadar is certainly the most popular, the most crowded, and the place to be if you want fresh and wonderful flowers, at the best rates, of course…… Here is a photoblog of our journey…
Our very first halt - all sorts of flowers.....
Our very first halt - all sorts of flowers.....
These are special.... we call them 'Manglore Malli' - literally, the jasmine from Mangalore..
... and I have no idea of the name of this one... my mom says they never wither......
The goddess is believed to like these pink flowers - called 'Arali' in tamil..
Lotuses galore... pink and white....
Masses of roses..... of every hue...
A dash of pink.... against the green....
Now white and orange... my favourite flowers - Mogra and Aboli...those are the marathi names - the tamil ones are Malli and Kanakambaram....
Flowers of every colour.....
Neatly stacked in piles....
These are the flowers already tied up.....ready to be worn....... a temptation, no doubt, but too expensive today!!!!
A sample of what the market has to offer....
Here are the flowers tied up again, but now the marathi way.... Gajras....
Mounds and mounds of flowers of every colour....
The credit for the next photo goes to my sis.... she had a vantage point of course, thanks to her height....
And here is my sis herself...... haggling with the shopkeeper............
....choosing none but the best.......
Happy now, Kanthi????? Hope you like the pics......
And finally, garlands for the goddess..........
If you liked this post, the person you must thank is my sister, Kanthi... For once, she was the one bargaining and selecting the stuff while I went click-happy....
Nice photographs Anu, it seems that your sister did had a hard time bargaining. :)
ReplyDeleteOh what a fest of colors! Beautiful. I just love flowers.
ReplyDeletelovely snaps anu....
ReplyDeletehmhm--
I love flowers... :)
such colors and such life... :)
So many flowers,
ReplyDeleteFantastic pictures ^__^
So colorful post :)
Hey akka,
ReplyDeleteThanks a lot. The pics are really nice n ya i loved them. I am very happy!!!!
Wow great colorful flowers.
ReplyDeleteAnu madam have u travelled chennai coimbatore
WoW...some very beautifully captured shots!
ReplyDelete